Chestnuthill Township, which was an official locality before the Revolutionary War was even fought, will mark its quarter-millennium anniversary this year and will celebrate by holding a parade and large community festival at the West End Fairgrounds in September.

West End businesses, community organizations and other groups will be allowed, for a small fee, to set up booths and displays at the festival.

Groups, clubs and other entities that make up the fabric of the West End community will be allowed to march in the parade. Food and drinks will be served and artifacts and historical documents displayed.

"The entire celebration is a way of us pausing to reflect on where we are and how we got here and to document some of the information," said Norm Burger, chairman of a Chestnuthill Township committee set up to organize the anniversary celebration.

"Quite a bit of the detail of our history gets lost as each generation passes, and if one does not take time to capture that history, the detail and the understanding that goes along with it goes missing," Burger said.

And what an impressive history Chestnuthill Township has.

Originally set up under British rule, the township was named for the abundant chestnut trees that once lined many roads and dotted hillsides in the area.

In fact, according to the Monroe County Historical Society, the large hill that one summits when driving into the village of McIlhaney on Old Route 115 was the "Chestnut Hill."

Many of the township's chestnut trees, unfortunately, died off in the 1800s, in a chestnut blight.

Some other interesting historical facts about Chestnuthill:

It used to be much larger. Much land that had once belonged to Chestnuthill Township now belongs to Eldred, Ross and Polk townships.

The man who "settled" Chestnuthill purchased the land from the Moravians, a Christian sect from Europe that settled in Bethlehem, among other places.

The most important thoroughfare in Chestnuthill many years ago had been the Wilkes-Barre and Easton Turnpike, which is known today as Route 115, because it linked Chestnuthill with the Scranton area.

The largest village in Chestnuthill Township, Brodheadsville, was named in 1852 for Charles Brodhead, a Stroudsburg resident who moved to Chestnuthill and established a post office there.

As part of the 250th anniversary celebration, Chestnuthill Township plans to publish a book detailing the township's history.

Chestnuthill is looking for more people and businesses to help sponsor the anniversary events.

The township will give out gifts and other benefits to sponsors. People who want to be a sponsor or want to have a booth at the anniversary festival, which will be held on the weekend of Sept. 7, can stop by the Chestnuthill Township building for forms.